Wilshere´s performance ´very positive´, says Wenger

Arsene Wenger called Jack Wilshere’s performance “very positive” after he impressed in his first Premier League start of the season against West Ham on Wednesday.

Arsenal stuttered to a disappointing 0-0 draw at the London Stadium, though things could have been much worse when Javier Hernandez struck the crossbar late on.

Wenger handed a rare start to Wilshere and the England international looked sharp in midfield, dictating most of Arsenal’s attacks.

And the Arsenal manager was happy with how the 25-year-old coped.

“Overall it was a positive performance,” Wenger told BT Sport.  “Especially in first half.

“He showed good acceleration, he got fouled a few times and contributed very well.

“He also defender well, which is very important in this position. For a first game, it’s a very positive performance.”

But on the whole, Wenger felt frustrated with how the match went, particularly regarding West Ham’s willingness to sit back.

“Overall it’s frustrating,” Wenger said. “They were in a very defensive phase.

“It was 10 against 10 in the final third and we couldn’t find an opening because they defended very well. We created chances but lacked the sharpness.”#WHUvAFC pic.twitter.com/ygiSkxdNuk

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) December 13, 2017

“They did it against Chelsea, [Manchester] City, now us. We lacked a bit freshness and sharpness to open them up and get a goal.

“They focused on defending and didn’t try to come out at all.”

For West Ham, the match ended a run of three difficult fixtures which saw them go up against Manchester City, Chelsea and the Gunners.

And although David Moyes expected the worst before them, he has been pleasantly surprised with the Hammers’ performances, taking four points from those three matches.

“When I saw the fixtures when I took the job I thought ‘oh no’,” Moyes said. “But our best performances have come in these games.

When you hit the underside of the bar in the last minute… pic.twitter.com/NQEf84ptrs

— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) December 13, 2017

“We’ve tightened up. We were a bit unfortunate against Manchester City, so I think we take the positives from that.

“I want the team to play better and the football to be better, and to create better chances, but we’re getting to that. Against the better teams you have to make sure you don’t concede – it’s hard to go toe-to-toe.

“But I think the other games will give us the chance to be on the front foot rather than always sitting back in.”